The Buffalo Hunt
Having been born in Milo and spent his entire life there, Jeffrey Champlin must have felt in the winter of 1860 an urge to travel. It's unknown why he went to Kansas that winter, since one has to wonder what was the attraction in the place: people in Yates County had been raising arms for the anti-slavery settlers of "Bleeding Kansas" for years, and it was known to be a very dangerous place even without considering natural hazards.
In any case, early in 1861 he went on a buffalo hunt with a party, setting out from Chelsea and setting off up the Arkansas River. The men had to hole up for four days in a cabin because of the bitterly cold weather, and then went four more days' distance up the river.
About this time the party found buffalo and put out their wolf bait; but Champlin quarreled with a couple of his companions (narrowly missing getting shot) and instead of returning to camp struck out on foot and without his outfit to cross the river and find the Santa Fe Trail. He arrived in Emporia and wrote a letter to his brother describing his adventures.
